big Ozark river smallmouths

[creek wader]

Bill, Thanks for your reply. I mainly use an ultra light. Occasionally I use my fly rod. I have a blast either way. But, I find my spinning rod is easier to handle when I have to climb banks and bust some brush. I use my kayak quite a bit, when I have a little more time. I am on call 24/7. So, many times I only have a few hours to run out and "hit" a stream. So, I travel light.

Thanks for the info on the locations, to fish for whites and hybrids. I think the only way to find the first shoal, is to put in at the mouth and kayak upstream. It's the only access till you get to the first low water dam (several miles). Or put in at the low water dam and go the other way. I believe with the recent rise in the streams, now would be a good time to try it.

[drew03cmc]

It would be nice to see all smallmouth regs on the streams in question to become C&R, and keep up to fifty spots. That is a little rash, but it might actually help, and you could get a decent fish fry from 50 spots of any size.

[creek wader]

Al, That would have been Wilson Camp Access, that you fished at on the Tavern. It is where I first fished the Tavern and got "hooked", on it. They just closed the "swing" bridge (Kliethermes Bridge), to auto traffic, last summer. Kind of a shame. Although, there is still a "swing" bridge near St. Elizabeth, over the Tavern.

Drew, I couldn't agree with you more, on a more liberal spot bag limit. Although, I would add, a year around "open" season on the spot's. I only catch and release. But, to help the smallies out, I could be persuaded to keep a few spot's. Maybe the local giggers would also.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Brian a lot of people put in on the NW side of the Orla bridge, I believe its MODOT land. Its a nice float from there to B.

I've heard that people who float through Empire get a lot of intimidation from the employees, but I've never personally tried, so I can't attest to the truth of the tales.

[drew03cmc]

Al, That would have been Wilson Camp Access, that you fished at on the Tavern. It is where I first fished the Tavern and got "hooked", on it. They just closed the "swing" bridge (Kliethermes Bridge), to auto traffic, last summer. Kind of a shame. Although, there is still a "swing" bridge near St. Elizabeth, over the Tavern.

Drew, I couldn't agree with you more, on a more liberal spot bag limit. Although, I would add, a year around "open" season on the spot's. I only catch and release. But, to help the smallies out, I could be persuaded to keep a few spot's. Maybe the local giggers would also.

Open all year would work for me if it helps slow or stop the infestations in our most prized rivers.

[creek wader]

Had a few hours to fish yesterday. Fished the Maries river @ Bruns Access. River was high, turbid, and very swift. Too high to wade, too swift to kayak, unless you were going one way only. Very limited bank access. Fished anyway, below what normally are riffles but, were rapids yesterday. Caught one 11" smallie. Only stayed for about an hour. Stayed in one spot, no where else to stand. At least I didn't get skunked.

[BrianK]

The Big Smallie thread has evolved...

I mentioned my report on the Niangua R. forum also but just wanted to followup here as well.

Got out this past Sun to do some scouting and check out the river around L. Niangua.

Tunnel Dam pretty cool but hi traffic area. Bigger than i thought.

First bridge below the dam also very hi traffic but both good accesses for a canoe.

Tried to find access below that but the 2 roads i was following both ended in a gate short of the river.

I know there are other accesses before the lake. Just need to track em down.

several other gravel roads on the map that may have ended in the river but didn't have time to check.(anyone know?)

Bill- as for white bass, may need to put a boat in and motor up. not sure.

Oz' book i think talks about an access on the east bank in LOZ to take out...

Also drove up the west side of L. Niangua and along the river but no luck on any other access. all "gated communities" as well.

bk

[cwc87]

Big Smallmouth have left permanent visions in my memory. First one was a 20inch giant on Huzzah Creek(way up) in 1993. Floated through hole and decieded to cast a Black jitter bug back up stream and wamo the fight was on. the zebco 33 was screeming. This fish is the only smallmouth I ever kept and hangs in my house. On Gasconade in July, partner caught a 4lber on a shad rap type crankbait it had the entire lure in its mouth (when it shut it's mouth nothing but line sticking out). It was released. Another Gasconade fish was a legitly weighed in 5.2oz hog daddy giant that was largest smallmouth I ever touched. Zoom critter crawl and was caught in mid-August. Another one is the one I caught with Al Agnew on the Big Piney in July and probaly the most impressive one I've caught(out of a canoe on a Sammy). I first thought it was a giant Carp but getting a fish of that size in and unhooked out of a canoe is a challenge. Last August I had a awesome day on the Meramec one 20incher two 18's and a 17 in a short time span. Other fish that are noteworthy are a day that I guided a couple guys were each one of us caught a 20 incher and by the end of the day we had caught and released over 120 smallies. Another trip in 1999 a friend and I caught and released 99 smallmouth in whitch we had 8, 17inch smallies and the bummer was the last two miles of canoe trip a thunderstorm blew up and forced us to paddle the rest of the way in. In review, over the years I have become a smallmouth catching machine and with todays equip (rods, lures, and line) it seems easier than ever to catch giant smallmouth.

[Al Agnew]

Corey, that Big Piney fish sticks in MY memory, too!

First really big smallmouth I ever caught was when I was about 14, and on my first ever overnight float trip, actually a 3 day trip with my best teen fishing buddy, on Big River from north Bonne Terre to Washington State Park. The first day the river was almost muddy from rain the night before, and we caught very little. The second day was an entirely different story. I remember exactly where I caught the fish, a 20 incher that weighed exactly 4 pounds on my De-liar scales, which were pretty close to accurate. It was an interesting spot, a slight narrowing of the river between two long pools, not really a riffle. There is a little wet weather creek that enters the river there, and over the years it has dumped a pile of cobbles and gravel at its mouth, which is what narrows the river channel just enough to make a bit of current. That weed-covered bar is a feeding spot, with water off it no more than two feet deep. The big fish took a 2 3/4 inch floating Rapala. Over the years, I caught 4 or 5 more big fish off that exact spot, including a deformed smallie that I caught three times. It had a very crooked back, and the first time I caught it, it was a 17 incher that should have been at least in inch longer if its back had been straight. I released it, and the next year I caught it again--18 inches. The third year I looked for it, but didn't catch it off the spot in several summertime trips. But in late November, I caught it for the third time--19 inches--just below the riffle at the bottom of the lower pool.

I've got plenty of big smallie stories, if anybody wants to hear any more of them. I'm sure Corey could tell a bunch more, too.

[cwc87]

Great details Al, I did forget a heavy 20incher that I caught in the firts week of April in the late 90's. I guided a client and still to this day the only client that drank an entire 12 pack on a trip on the upper meramec. Water was clear and easy floating conditions. Put in as HWy m bridge(difficult) and took out at Klien ford. After portaging across wesco bridge client was catching fish on the right swifter side. So I casted a broken back black back rapala with a black skirt on its belly on the left calm side of stream. (what a mouthfull) Two cranks and wammo this prespawn giant was a hog daddy and the client got to help release it and snapped it's mugshot. Boy thinking of that fish now and seeing its picture shows that it was a magnum fish. If you happen into a Outdoor celebrity cookbook it is the fish I'm holding and across the page is Bill Dance with a huge smallie also. The book was put together by Billie Cooper from St. James.